Critical Reflection
Production Skills
- Personally I am not the best when it comes to using editing soft wares such as adobe illustrator, Photoshop, or IMovie. Being in a group I was able to seek help and guidance from them and all be able to work together.
-When it came to the editing process my task for the group was to look through all the raw shots taken and select all the good ones taken and then keep an organized list of of which takes were the best. I thoroughly enjoyed this process and had a fun time picturing which shots would work best. After selecting the shots, I transferred them to IMovie and placed the different clips in chronological order. During this process I was very proud of myself since this was the very first time I was in control of editing by myself. I was amazed how this was the very first step of many more to come for editing this opening.
Engaging With Our Audience
Shots/Angles
- When it came to filming techniques we opened the scene with a focus pull of Frankie waking up in the morning. This helped show a change of focus from blurry and being sleepy, to clear and waking up. As Frankie wakes up, the camera pans the room to show off an inside to his life. The audience right away can see how he comes off as a nerdy kid, with spider man drawings in the background and video game-like non-digetic music playing. The audience can see a green mask off to the side on his desk giving a hint to the audience. As the opening continues there were over-the-shoulder shots of kids at the school grounds on their phones. By having this helped show what it was like as a current day student, as society is glued to their phones. Through establishing shots, the audience can see the setting with the school in the background and many kids around with their backpacks on. Shot-counter shots between Frankie and Eddie show off their relationship, as Eddie pushes Frankie to the ground. Through dialogue and mid-shots of the teens, the audience can see how everyone is amazed by something on their phones. We decided to use a high angle of his peers looking down at Frankie on the grass, this helps diminish Frankie's character and make him seem less powerful. Viewers can see the same green mask hanging out of his bag, connecting Frankie to the mask. At the end of the scene we placed the camera on the level of the grass to build up suspicion as the mask falls out of Frankie's bag and is picked up by someone unknown. We decided to stay the same level as the grass to leave our audience wondering who picked it up.
- After choosing the main idea, our target audience is geared towards teens ages 13-18. By having different stereotypes portrayed helps grab many different groups of teens. With our main character being a nerdy guy helps attract other guys out there who also wish to seek popularity. I think this film would send out a good message to never be something that your not.
-I think this could be short film that you could access on the internet. I don't think it would gain enough popularity to make it in the movie theaters. Being a short film would allow many computer geeks to access which I think would be our main target audience.
Technology
Representation of Social Groups
Conventions
- Through Google Docs and IMessage our group communicated.
-Google docs is an incredible program since it allows us to share and all collaborate on documents. Such as: planning sheets, scripts, and shot lists.
- We started our editing on IMovie and then transferred it to Sony Vegas to finish it.
- We created our "EGO" logo through Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
- We created the You-Tube montage in the very beginning through Adobe Illustrator and Photo Shop
-Most of this project process and the project itself has been done with technology. Our generation is very technologically advanced and without it we wouldn't of been able to have done the things we did. It has been an amazing process start to finish from watching an idea turn into a masterpiece.
-For our film, we decided to play with the idea of archetypes. Archetypes are commonly used as a theme, motif, symbol, or stock character that hold a familiar and fixed place in culture's consciousness. Our main character, Frankie Gibson is represented as "the outcast" being a loser kid who feels different from others. He lives a double life through his famous You-Tube channel as he wears a mask to disguise himself. We decided to use You-Tube as his source of media since Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are all commonly used sources when it comes to disguising yourself to the world.
Different Social Groups Mentioned
Technology
Before starting our film, I researched and viewed several film openings which helped open my eyes to all the different possibilities out there. I was interested in dramatic comedies since they usually play off of characters who are typically average stereotypes that immerse with the structure of society. To make our film seem more realistic we picked actors who fit the certain stereotypes in our opening.
Through google docs our group was able to communicate and view all the raw shots taken when we filmed.
Through adobe illustrator and Photoshop we were able to create our logo with Frankie's mask as the "O"
- "The Outcast" geeky Frankie who just wants to fit in
- "The Bully" our stock character who picks on Frankie making him feel little of himself
-" The Temptress" the girl who threatens the bully if he doesn't stop bullying Frankie
Through adobe illustrator and Photoshop we were able to have our opening credits in a You-Tube montage.